Trade in the European flat steel market has remained slow overall with some moderate trade mainly seen domestically, while import activity has been very quiet. As the expected deadline for the announcement of the new quota regiime is nearing, EU buyers prefer to refrain from imports and to see a clearer market picture before concluding new bookings. In the meantime, the domestic prices have largely remained stable across Europe, while in some countries the mills are reluctant to sell at the lower end of the range as they are working on their August order books. Moreover, the market players mainly have little doubt that in the coming two weeks the producers will be increasing their domestic offers.
In the southern EU, HRC offers have remained mainly at €680-690/mt ex-works and up to €700/mt ex-works, while workable levels are now evaluated at €675-680/mt ex-works. Some bids at lower levels have already been rejected. In Spain, sources report that buyers seeking levels below €700/mt ex-works, with the mills looking to book at €700-710/mt ex-works with a potential increase up to €725-750/mt ex-works, traders believe. In the northern part of the EU, HRC prices have been reported at €690-710/mt ex-works with only limited volumes traded at €680-690/mt ex-works. “Right now, [the market] remains quite stable. There is very slow demand but EU mills are not pushing [for sales] anymore. It seems they are filling up order books for July and August,” a trader told SteelOrbis. “Local mills’ prices are stable but we expect them to increase prices once the quotas are released. It is not clear how the EU will manage next week as it is still in discussions with FTA countries, etc,” another source commented.
As mentioned, HRC import activity has been almost non-existent this week with barely any CFR price indications reported, while DDP-based offers have varied depending on the supplier. Turkish material has been available at €670-690/mt, with HRC from Vietnam offered at €690-710/mt, and offers from Algeria at €700-710/mt, all on DDP basis. On spot basis, Turkey has been negotiating for HRC sales with EU buyers at $600-615/mt FOB this week, with some bids of $580/mt FOB rejected, sources report. The CFR prices for Turkish HRC are estimated at €580-610/mt CFR duty paid, depending on the supplier. Some deals have also been concluded to non-EU European countries, according to sources, at $600-610/mt FOB Turkey for 3,000-5,000 mt.
In the coated and CRC segment, local prices across Europe are still stable at around €780-800/mt and €770-810/mt ex-works, respectively, while some mills are trying to resist selling at the lower ends of the mentioned price ranges. Import activity has been at minimal levels due to the same factors affecting the HRC segment. Some indications for ex-India CRC have been reported at €790/mt DDP. In the HDG segment, ex-Vietnam 0.5 mm Z140 material has been on offer at $840/mt CFR, while 2 mm Z200 material is offered at $845/mt CFR. In addition, ex-Japan 0.57 mm Z140 material has been quoted at €950/mt DDP, sources report.
